The summer

The summer was difficult. It was one of the hottest summers in years and my city experienced record-breaking heat. My legs swelled up like balloons and my muscles ached all over. I don’t respond well to the heat, and for the majority of the summer I recorded temperatures as high as 98° in my house. Some days it was even hotter, but 98° is bad enough, right? I distracted myself by watching every episode ever made of the USA show, “Psych,” taking several cold showers, and eating lots and lots of popsicles.

In July, we took a 5 day trip to Italy. The drive took about 10 hours so we had 2 big driving days and 3 days there to relax. It was a wonderful time and our hotel room had an air-conditioner so we at least had the opportunity to cool down in the evenings. Venice is absolutely as spectacular as I always knew it would be, and I adore listening to the Italians talk. They can say anything and always sound lovely. 🙂

But there’s just something about Austria… I’ve spent my life wanting to go to Italy, and I still want to go again. It’s my dream to one day take a 4-6 week road trip through the entire country, but folks… I’m telling ya… there’s nothing like Austria. The mountains, the pristine lakes, the people… oh… the people! THAT’S a country you go to and never want to leave. I think I could live there for the rest of my life and be happy as a tick on a deer.

Oh. Sorry. That’s the Arkansas in me. 😉

Anyway, eventually it cooled off and school was back in session, and I started getting called in to sub again. I’ve already been there so often this year that I’m finally making friends, or acquaintances at least. That’s been the toughest part about being in Germany… not having any friends of my own. But things are in the works now. It’s looking good.

I also started taking German classes – FINALLY! I found an amazing website called Lingoda where you can take online classes (you can learn more than German, by the way). The teachers are wonderful, and with each passing day I am more and more excited about learning German. I’ve always wanted to be bilingual and admired those who are. So far, learning German feels like one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life. I look forward to my classes and miss them on my days off.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m happy. Really happy. I have a fun job with friendships in the works, I’m learning German, and I’ve got a great guy by my side every step of the way. Life is so good.